


Picnics and Relaxation

by AndInThoseMoments



Series: Trust and Teamwork [11]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Multi, Picnics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-27 18:36:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1719254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndInThoseMoments/pseuds/AndInThoseMoments
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It isn't often that Strike Team Delta get down time.  When they do, they want to make the most of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Picnics and Relaxation

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who is reading and commenting on this series, and especially ShadowHaloedAngel for betaing!

It wasn't every day that Phil got both of his agents home in one piece, the objectives of the mission complete, and a few days off before they were expected back at work. Still, today appeared to be one of those days and he wanted to make the most of it.

Clint was sat on the sofa, organising his arrows, muttering to himself as he carefully primed the netting arrow for when it was needed next. He stuffed the fabric back inside the head with practised fingers. Beside him was Natasha, a dismantled gun on her lap. She oiled each part in turn, checking them over with her fingertips to ensure that every single piece was as it should be.

Coulson walked over to the kitchenette of the safe house, preparing drinks for the three of them, and carrying them over on a tray. He put it down, and settled into a comfortable chair, watching them work as he considered what to do now. The mission was completed, and the evac wasn't scheduled until the following Monday. Whilst he could have insisted on an early pickup, it seemed sensible to remain around for now, in case anything else came up in the area. Plus, with the new relationship that was beginning to grow between the three of them, he rather liked the idea of being able to spend time with the two of them not working.

Time off was rare in their line of work. This was a chance, and he didn't want to waste the opportunity to relax. They all desperately needed it. Even as they went through their post-mission cool down, carefully ensuring their weapons were in a good state, he could tell that they were doing better now; that it was good for them to be able to have some time to rest.

Clint looked up as he slipped the final piece of metal back in place, the netting arrow whole once more.  
"So what’s the plan boss?"  
"Well. I didn't think it would be sensible to stay inside until Monday, but we need to stay in the area in case anything comes up. We can explore during the day as long as we keep our ears open, and in the evenings we'll relax here and get some sleep. Lines will remain open to SHIELD, but hopefully they will feel no need to contact us. We can relax."

"Understood sir." Natasha answered, before relaxing slightly, her body language becoming a little less formal as she glanced over at Clint, going from Agent Romanoff to Natasha in a moment. "So what do we do during the day?"  
"I thought..." Phil gestured towards the window, where the sun was blazing up in the sky. "We could go out for a bit. For a walk or something. Tomorrow we could go on a road trip, have a picnic, then head back."

The two agents exchanged glances, then Clint grinned and Natasha nodded smartly. Phil smiled at them in return. With anyone else he might have tried to keep his plans a surprise, but these two were different. They were both suspicious of surprises, and he couldn't blame them for that. He simply wanted to give them good experiences. If being upfront and honest was the best way to do that, then that would be what he did.

"Romanoff, I want you to select a suitable site for a picnic. Barton, check the meteorological reports, and check that they won't ruin anything, then help Romanoff and work out estimated times for the journey. I'm going to prepare the meals, both for this evening and for lunch tomorrow. We reconvene in a couple of hours to discuss what we have done."

Clint grinned and threw him a lazy salute, whilst Natasha just quirked her lips slightly, picking up a map of the area. A day ago they had been busy using this map to try and scope out where their target might have been hiding, but this was a much better use. Knowing that they were comfortable, Coulson left them to their assigned tasks and headed to the kitchen, preparing a curry for the evening meal, and a mixture of sandwiches, cakes and small tidbits for the picnic. He packed the picnic carefully in a hamper, adding a blanket, some lemonade and a bottle of wine, then stored it inside the cupboard to keep it cool.

The next morning, Coulson woke to Clint burrowed into his side, nudging him and breathing excessively loudly. Phil creaked his eye open to find the archer beaming at him and bobbing slightly in the bed.  
"We're going on a road trip!" Clint declared in a sing song voice. Phil groaned, rolling over, and Clint snuggled up against his back, still humming something or other about road trips. 

Phil flicked him hard in the side, then opened his eyes and stretched.   
"Go and shower, I'll sort everything out."  
"The hamper is already in Lola, as are additional drinks." Natasha said from the doorway. Coulson nearly jumped out of his skin at her sudden appearance - he was sure he should have been used to her appearing out of nowhere by now, but it still startled him.  
"Alright. Thank you Agent Romanoff. I'll just get ready." He tried to look more confident than he felt, groaning softly when she left him to get ready. He pushed Clint towards the shower, taking a moment to take stock of the situation. Two of SHIELD's most feared agents were acting like small children at the prospect of a relaxing day off work, and Phil couldn't bring himself to mind. It was good to see them happy.

He dressed in a dark blue button down, throwing on some jeans, and was eating cereal when Barton returned from the shower with a wide grin on his face and a towel around his hips.  
"You save me the toy in the box?" Clint asked hopefully, gesturing at the empty cereal packet. Phil threw over the piece of colourful plastic, smiling at how Clint's face lit up.  
"It wasn't the Captain America stickers, so yes. I'm not a complete monster."  
"I found the Captain America stickers in mine." Natasha handed over the stickers to Phil and he smiled.

"You're both as bad as each other." Natasha said with a soft smile, patting Coulson's hair fondly before heading out to the car. "You have five minutes or I am going to leave without you."

Clint let out a frantic squeak and raced off to dress.

Four minutes and fifty six seconds later, Coulson sat down in the driver's seat, Natasha beside him and Clint sprawled across the back seat with the picnic hamper. Normally Clint insisted on riding shot gun, but this once he had been willing to relinquish his spot, and Coulson certainly didn't want to draw attention to it.

He drove along the highway, heading down the route Natasha had decided on the previous night and turning off down a quiet side road. He drove for a little longer before stopping beside a stream. The area Natasha had chosen had been carefully picked - it was still close enough to the safe house that they could be back at work in less than an hour if necessary, whilst at the same time being quiet and relaxed. It was down from the motorway, out of sight of the cars speeding past, shaded by trees. It was secure, but also somewhere peaceful. He spread out the blanket, and Natasha picked up the drinks while Clint carried the hamper out of the car.

Phil leaned in to kiss him and noticed that he tasted suspiciously like cake. Still, the basket was set down, and Natasha sat near the edge of the blanket, her hand resting on her knee as she watched them closely. Clint grinned, kicking off his trainers then flopping down onto it and grabbing a cold can of lemonade from the hamper.  
He rolled it over to Natasha, who opened it at arm’s length, then grabbed his own, leaning against Phil's side as he relaxed in the sun.

Natasha had her eyes on them, but she slowly moved closer towards them, reaching out so that her hand was resting gently on Clint's shin before leaning over to grab the food. She pulled out a box half-full of cake, and raised an eyebrow towards Clint.   
"Okay, I think that in future Barton should not be left unattended with food."  
"I am entirely innocent!" Clint protested, and Natasha slapped his leg.  
"Bad pigeon. No more cake for you."

Clint frowned, rubbing at his leg and cuddling up closer to Phil, but not actually moving out of Natasha's reach.  
"The scary Russian is being mean."  
"She's being scary because you ate /our/ cake. I'm going to be mean as well if you're not careful."  
"I'll be careful!" Clint protested, then jumped to his feet, running off to the nearby trees and returning with a mass of white fur lumps in his hands.

"What on earth are those?" Coulson asked, regarding the grey goo that was oozing from them with suspicion. Natasha reached out, picking up one and popping it in her mouth with a noise of relish.  
"Bearded teeth mushrooms." She answered, her voice tinged with smugness. "They are good. You should try one."

Coulson paused for a moment, regarding them carefully. They certainly did not look edible, but then both of his agents seemed to be happy enough eating them. Hoping that he wasn't about to condemn himself to a slow and painful death, he reached out and picked up one of the mushrooms, taking a bite from it.

It certainly wasn't the most delicious thing he had tasted, but nor was it fatal, and right now Phil was willing to accept that. He finished it, then reached out for another one.  
"Thanks." He glanced at Clint. "I didn't know you knew about mushrooms."  
"I'm fairly good at it. I only made a couple of mistakes when I was in the circus. That kind of mistake, you only make once you know?"

"Alright." Coulson sighed. "Just please try not to kill us all."  
"We'll be fine." Natasha answered. Between the two of us, we would be able to survive with no help from SHIELD for a long time."

Clint nodded, reaching out for Phil's hand.   
"We can teach you every single thing that's good to eat."

Phil considered. It would be interesting, but first they had a picnic to eat. It was a picnic that he had spent time preparing, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. He pointed at the basket. 

Clint opened his mouth to argue, then fell silent when Natasha dug out some hot dogs from the bottom of the case. He paused for a moment, then lunged at the food as Natasha chuckled. 

Coulson relaxed, settling back under the sun, and looking forwards to an afternoon of learning how to forage.


End file.
